NOVAK DJOKOVIC was pleased with his resilience as he overcame Spain’s Fernando Verdasco to reach the French Open quarter-finals yesterday.

The 2016 Roland Garros winner won 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier to reach the last eight of the Grand Slam in the French capital.

Djokovic’s victory wasn’t completely straightforward, making 29 errors, although he worked hard to overcome Verdasco for his fourth straight win - his joint-best run of form in 2018.

The Serbian - who will take on Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in the next round - showed encouraging mental strength to grind Verdasco down as he was broken just once.

And speaking to French Open broadcasters Eurosport after his triumph, the former world No 1 - who could face either Alexander Zverev or Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals - revealed his satisfaction with his display.

He said: “After a three, almost four, hour match I came in today really wanting to start off well and it’s already kind of second week of the Grand Slam so you have tougher and tougher opponents and tougher matches.

Novak Djokovic was impressive, if not at his absolute best, against Verdasco (Image: GETTY)